By Corina Pons
MADRID (Reuters) -Spain received a record number of foreign tourists in 2023, 17% more than the year before and up 1% from the 84 million who came in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, and Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu said on Friday he expected a further increase this year.
The United Nations' World Tourism Organisation said earlier on Friday that global tourism may only fully recover from the pandemic in 2024.
International visitors spent 108 billion euros ($117.5 billion) last year in Spain, one of the world's most visited countries, up 17% from 2019.
"All in all, 2023 has been a very positive year and a record year ... we are still on the same path to prosperity," Hereu told a news conference, predicting 23.2 million foreign visitors in the first quarter, 11% more than a year ago, with destination spending likely to increase by more than 18%.
He did not provide a specific forecast for the whole year, but expected a record number of new arrivals, adding though that Spain had to "fight for tourists from other continents".
"We have a lot of work to do in Brazil, in China, in the United States," the minister said.
He acknowledged also that the country needed better rules for tourist accommodation so as not to disrupt the locals' way of living and to regulate the growing supply of holiday homes that compete with hotels.
"We have to govern tourism. The whole tourist offer must be regulated and a sustainable mix must be achieved in each area," he added.
Industry group Exceltur on Tuesday estimated revenues from tourism activity in Spain would surpass 200 billion euros for the first time this year, 8.6% more than in 2023 at current prices, despite uncertainties over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and over global inflation.
Tourism's contribution to gross domestic product should rise to 13.4% in 2024 from 12.8% in 2023, it said, expecting Spain to attract more tourists than its rivals in the eastern Mediterranean, such as Egypt, which are closer to the Gaza conflict.
($1 = 0.9194 euros)